My blessings to
you all. I am happy that you all have studied here right from
the Primary School stage up to the 12th standard and obtained
good marks and earned good name for yourselves. No doubt, you
were all well behaved with good character up to the Primary
School stage. But after you left the Primary School you yourself
can imagine what change has come about in you. As long as you
were in the Primary School, you had developed many good
qualities like love, compassion, kindness and joy. You were all
moving like brothers with mutual love and affection. Your
speech, your play, your songs were all full of sweetness. But,
the moment you joined the Higher Secondary School, the quality
of purity in your thoughts, words and deeds deteriorated. I am
not saying that all the boys are like that. It is only a few
boys who took to wrong ways and are spoiling their mind. You can
judge for yourself how pure is your mind. Humanness consists of
five components – the gross body, mind, intellect, consciousness
and the senses. If a human being is to attain liberation, he has
to cleanse his mind first. It is a serious mistake to desire for
that which does not belong to him. Whenever the mind desires for
something, one has to enquire first whether the particular
object belongs to him or someone else. When you know for sure
that it belongs to someone else, you must be careful to divert
your mind from that object. The mind has to be kept absolutely
pure and sacred. One should not taint the mind with the
impurities of conflict and agitation. You all have to develop
such kind of Jnana, right from this early age. Unfortunately,
today you are all spoiling your life by cultivating desires for
all and sundry things. This is all madness and delusion.
Whatever you do, you must do it with a sense of dedication and
surrender to God. All the work you undertake must be carried out
with this spirit. Sarva karma Bhagavad preetyartham (do all
actions to please God). In fact, what you think to be yours is
not yours. First and foremost enquire into yourself, "Who am I?"
The entire universe, right from the microcosm to the macrocosm,
is permeated by Divinity. Sugar, sand, an ant, a mosquito or an
elephant – all are Embodiments of Divinity. God is assuming all
these forms like the different characters in a drama. There is
nothing in this universe which is not permeated by God.
Everything in this universe is God. The entire creation is an
Embodiment of Divinity. In fact, He dons all the characters in
this cosmic drama. All dialogues and songs are His only. Yet,
the characters He dons appear to be different. Hence, whatever
we do, whatever we see and whatever we say – everything is God.
One has to realise this truth and conduct himself accordingly.

Unfortunately,
today some people take to wrong ways due to the effect of bad
qualities, bad practices, bad thoughts and bad looks. Whomever
you come across, treat them as Embodiments of Divinity. Whatever
you say, it must reflect Divinity. When you conduct yourself in
such a manner, that itself is Mukti (liberation). One has to
cleanse his five senses. One should conduct himself in such a
manner that neither he hurts others nor is hurt by others. The
words you make use of must be sacred. You should not covet
others' property or develop a desire for it. One has to
cultivate faith in the unity of Divinity. Everything is Divine.
Unfortunately, some boys are not able to develop such universal
outlook. They are languishing in a feeling of separateness. They
distinguish between people as "mine" and "thine". The ancient
history of India is replete with instances of the ill-effects of
such divisive tendencies.

You all know
about the history of Kauravas and Pandavas in the great epic
Mahabharata. The Kauravas were one hundred in number and were
the sons of King Dhritarashtra. The Pandavas were five in
number. They were the sons of Pandu, the younger brother of King
Dhritarashtra. There ensued a fierce battle between the Kauravas
and the Pandavas. But, who is at fault in this battle? In fact,
Dhritarashtra and Pandu, both were the sons of the same father.
They were brothers. Their kingdom was one. But, their thoughts
and aspirations were different. A malicious desire for annexing
the entire kingdom for themselves on the part of the Kauravas
resulted in evil thoughts and divisive tendencies. Similarly, in
the Ramayana there were two brothers – Vali and Sugriva. They
were also brothers born to the same father. But, some
unfortunate and selfish interests on their part resulted in a
fierce battle between the brothers. While Vali the valiant king
was enjoying regal comforts in the city of Kishkindha, his
younger brother Sugriva had to languish in the hills and
forests.

There is no use
doing Japa and Tapa for months and years without giving up
divisive tendencies. Such Tapas converts itself into mere Tamas.
Several people give up their Sadhana in the middle with a sense
of frustration and despair, thinking that God is not merciful
enough to reveal Himself before them in spite of doing Japa for
long years. If you wish to have the vision of God, first and
foremost you must develop a sense of oneness with God. In fact,
your own mind is an Embodiment of Divinity. People often
question, "Where is God?" "Who is God?, etc." I would say, "Your
mind is God." It is said, Mana eva manushyanam karanam
bandhamokshayo (mind is the cause for bondage and liberation of
man). Both bondage and liberation occur due to the mind only.
Hence, mind is God. Similarly, the intellect is God, so also the
Chittha (consciousness). It is a common sight to see people
praising a person of sharp intellect as an intellectual. But,
God alone is the true intellectual. We have to dedicate our
Chittha to God. Once a great devotee sang, "Oh! God! Let me
offer my worship to You with chittha suddhi" (purity of
consciousness). Hence, you should all pray to God with purity of
consciousness.

Just as the
mind, intellect and chittha are the Embodiments of Divinity, so
also the senses. Hence, one should not taint his senses with the
arishadvargas (the six inner enemies of lust, anger, greed,
delusion, pride and jealousy). Kama signifies the desires, which
you can divert towards God and pray that you want only God and
none else. You love God alone. Such love only will be
sanctified. To love people on the basis of their name and form
cannot be termed as real love. That is only worldly love. When
you love God, everything will be added unto you. All your
desires must be God-oriented. Every desire of yours must be to
please God. Suppose you love someone, do not treat him as a mere
mortal. On the other hand, you must be able to visualise the
divinity in him.

There is no
object other than the Panchabhuthas (the five elements of air,
water, earth, fire and ether) in this universe. You will not
find a sixth element, however much you may try and explore. For
example, this is a hand consisting of five fingers. There is no
sixth finger. In case someone has a sixth finger, he will be
taken to the doctor for removing it by surgery. Similarly, we
all have five senses. What is Mukti (liberation)? Liberation is
control of the senses. Unless one controls his senses,
liberation is not possible. It is foolish to think that God is
somewhere in a distant place. Strictly speaking, who is God? The
Panchabhuthas are Embodiments of Divinity.

It is only the
senses that bring us good or bad. Hence, controlling the senses
should be our top priority. You often express your inability
thinking "Swami! Is it possible for us?" I am emphatically
saying that it is possible, provided you make an effort with
firm determination. When you are able to please God and obtain
His grace, sense control is not a big task for you. The senses
are very trivial things. Unless you are able to control the
senses, you do not deserve to be called a human being. It is
said, Jantunam nara janma durlabham (of all living beings, human
birth is the rarest). To be born as a human being is a rare gift
of God. Having obtained this rare gift, one should strive to
achieve sense control. Even if you succumb to the wishes of even
one of these five senses, you will stoop down to the level of an
animal. It is said Daivam manusha rupena (God is in the form of
a human being). Having attained such a rare and sacred birth of
a human being, how foolish it is to say that you cannot control
your senses? One who succumbs to the wishes of the senses is a
Rakshasa (demon), verily! In fact, such a person is worse than a
Rakshasa. One has to evolve himself into a noble human being.
You may be fond of your wife and children. But on that basis,
you cannot denigrate others. You should not entertain a feeling
that so and so is mine and others are different. All are
Embodiments of Divinity! All are children of God. There is such
an intimate relationship between people in this world. Whatever
object you come across in this world, it belongs to God only. It
does not belong to any particular individual. In every object,
every being, Divinity is immanent. Divinity is present in every
grain of sand and every particle of sugar. It is said, Viswam
Vishnu swarupam (the entire universe is the Embodiment of Lord
Vishnu). The whole universe comes under one family. Hence, one
has to cultivate such universal love. That is real Atmic Love.
It is only when you cultivate such love, you deserve to be
called a human being. Only then can you visualise the Atma
Tattwa. Devoid of love, if you go on cultivating evil qualities
like anger, hatred, jealousy and a feeling of difference between
one another, you will be worse than animals. Beasts and animals
fight among themselves. If you also fight like them, what
difference is there between you and the animals? In fact, anger
and hatred are not the qualities of a human being. The feeling
of difference originates in human beings when man considers
himself as different from God. Where there is a feeling of
difference, there hatred raises its head. Whatever activity you
undertake, it must be done in a spirit of dedication to God. We
extol Lord Easwara as Hiranya Garbhaya Namah (I offer my Pranam
to the golden-wombed Lord). He is the embodiment of gold. Here
gold signifies immutability. You are all golden children. But,
you forget your real nature and associate yourself with dust and
rust. Hence, great souls have to take birth in this world now
and then to cleanse you and make you realise your innate
divinity. However, when some great soul embarks upon such a
mission, some people doubt his effort saying, "It is all his
foolishness. Can earth become gold? Can sand become sugar?"
Modern man is full of doubts and doubts! What could be the
reason for these doubts? It is only when one thinks that he is
separate from God that doubts arise.

It is a well
known fact that a vessel filled to the brim will be steady.
Similarly, God is omniscient and hence He is steady always. Many
people who come here have several experiences. (Swami called a
student onto the dais). I am aware of the past, present and
future of every individual, irrespective of caste, religion and
place of birth. Some people who come here may think, "Perhaps
Swami does not know who I am." But, there is nothing that I do
not know. Even though I know everything, I pretend as if I do
not know. (Pointing to a student) The parents and brothers and
sisters of this boy visited Prasanthi Nilayam sometime ago. I
called all of them for an interview and promised to the father,
"My dear! The mother of these children may not survive for long.
In fact, she may breathe her last even before you reach your
village. You don't worry. I will take up the responsibility of
all your children." The children started crying. I told them,
"Don't cry. Why fear when I am here? I will look after
everything." From that day onwards, I have been looking after
their welfare, as promised. The girls are all married. All the
children have been provided with their requirements. None of
them faced any difficulty. There is one boy among our Band
group. That boy is the youngest of all the brothers. He was very
young when he came here along with his parents sometime ago. I
called him and told him, "My dear! You don't need to worry for
anything. I am your father, mother and everything. I will look
after you in every aspect." Whenever he came here, I used to
call him and talk to him instilling a sense of security and
confidence in him. Now all the members of the family are happily
living. This boy was very young then. Now, he has grown up.
Thus, I have been showering My love and grace on one and all,
whether I talk to them particularly or not. What is My property?
Love! Love! Love! I have no anger whatsoever on anyone, at any
time. It is only to correct an erring individual, I pretend to
be angry. But, I have no anger on anyone. My entire body is
suffused with pure love. It is said, Easwara sarva bhutanam (God
is the indweller of all beings). Who is Easwara? Easwara is not
merely the one who is portrayed as wearing rudraksha garlands
around His hands and serpents round His neck. It is only a form
that is created for the common man to comprehend divinity to
some extent. The various names and forms like Easwara, Vishnu,
Parvati, Lakshmi, etc., were created to enable the common man to
worship God in some form or the other. In fact, every human
being is an Embodiment of Easwara. There is nothing in this
world which is not permeated by Easwara. The Earth is Easwara.
This handkerchief is also an embodiment of Easwara. All names
and forms originated from Easwaratwa.

In fact, it is
only the one who has gained control over the five senses that
can comprehend Divinity. Divinity is not limited to one name and
form. People say they had the vision of Rama, Krishna, etc., but
it is only their imagination! However, Divinity is only one and
that has been named as Easwara. Unable to comprehend the
Divinity, people ascribe several names and forms to it and get
deluded. Today, it is the devotees who change their chosen
deities, frequently. But, God does not change. God is one. He is
permanent. Real sadhana is gaining control over the five senses.
One has to undertake such type of sadhana instead of engaging
himself in Japa, Dhyana, etc. For example, even if you are
engaged in Japa and Dhyana closing your eyes, your 'monkey mind'
will be roaming about all the three worlds. People do not
realise this truth and engage themselves in different types of
sadhana. There is nothing but Divinity in this world. Whatever
you see, whatever you hear, everything is permeated by Divinity.

Once the
Pandavas were performing the Rajasuya Yajna. At the conclusion
of the ritual, Sri Krishna was honoured by the Pandavas in the
presence of all kings in the court. Sisupala could not bear with
this honour bestowed on Sri Krishna. He reviled Lord Krishna in
ever-so-many ways, criticising Him for various omissions and
commissions. One of the points of his criticism was that Krishna
stole the saris of women who were bathing in a lake. The
Pandavas could not bear these insinuations heaped upon their
dear Lord Krishna. They felt humiliated. Krishna then tried to
reason with them saying, "He did so out of ignorance. I am
beyond praise or scorn. I am the eternal witness to everything
that goes on in this world. You should not, however, respond to
that criticism and start paying him in his own coin. Do not ever
get attached to anyone deeply. If you lead a life of detachment
thus, I will be with you constantly guarding you and guiding
you."

Divinity never
encourages differences among men. God is Love and Love is God.
There are several thousands of people gathered in this Hall.
However, the love that is permeating every individual is only
one. There may be differences in the names and forms of people
and their relationships, but the Divinity permeating all people
is one and the same. Hence, all should lead a life filled with
love like brothers and sisters. In educational institutions
where the system of co-education is in vogue, the boys and girls
should move like brothers and sisters. Nowhere should any
difference on account of gender raise its head. When the
children get into the Higher Secondary stage, these differences
crop up. You should not give scope for such things. Whoever
entertains such differences, is sure to fail in the examination,
the examination of 'pure love'. There is nothing great in
passing examinations in the worldly sense. Everyone can pass,
provided one puts in a little effort. There is no use passing a
worldly examination, while at the same time failing in pure and
unsullied love for a fellow human being who is none other than
God. He who has passed the examination of divine love is the
most successful person in life.

All are God's
children. All are reflections of the Hiranyagarbha present in
the human body. Hence, from now onwards all of you should live
like brothers and sisters with mutual love and affection. Then
only you deserve to be called ideal students. But, I do not find
in the present-day students such feeling of kinship. Instead
they are cultivating differences such as, "I am different" and
"You are different." You should not, under any circumstances,
cultivate anger and hatred. Anger should be controlled and
hatred given up. Your safety and welfare lie in controlling
anger. It is common knowledge that when the controls in a
railway station are not functioning properly, the trains moving
on the track derail. In such a situation, the controller in the
railway station is held responsible. Similarly, the mind is the
controller for all thoughts and feelings arising in us. Hence,
if the mind is kept in control, the entire body comes under our
control.

You are all
embodiments of pure gold. You are all golden children. Your
words are sweet. Let your conduct also be sweet in comformity
with your words. Wherever you go, as students of Sri Sathya Sai
Educational Institutions, you must display an exemplary conduct
and behaviour. Merely because you wear white dress, you do not
deserve to be called students of Sri Sathya Sai Educational
Institutions. In keeping with your white dress, keep your mind
pure and your heart sacred. Only then will you become ideal
students. Swami will constantly be with such students, guarding
and guiding them. I will give them everything. In fact, I am
protecting several people in several ways; but, no one has
realised this point till today.

Your own Atma
is divinity. That is Easwara. One has to develop firm faith in
that feeling. How can you be called a human being if you do not
develop such faith? Love is God; live in love. Your love should
not be limited to an individual or some family members. You must
share it with all. If only you develop such broad-mindedness,
you can become a leader and set an ideal to others. (When Swami
enquired of the students whether they had faith in Swami's
words, all of them unanimously responded by saying loudly, "Yes
Swami!"). It is not enough if you just pay lip service by saying
'yes’. The conviction must come from the depth of your heart.
You commit a mistake and say 'sorry’. That is not enough. You
should desist from repeating the same mistake. Truth is the very
life-breath for a human being. Truth is God. Do not speak
untruth. If only you follow truth in your life steadfastly, you
can achieve everything. Truth is like a shield that will protect
you. Truth is your support. If you give up such a noble quality
of truth and speak untruth, how can you be called a human being?
You should never give scope for falsehood in your life. God is
the only leader for the entire universe. God is the only leader
and judge. It is only God who can decide justice or injustice.
You should not forget such an omnipresent, omnipotent and
omniscient God. Do not entertain feelings of difference like
"mine" and "thine". Develop equal-mindedness. May all people
live together happily and bring good name for themselves and the
country (Bhagawan created a gold ring with a green stone
embedded in it and presented it to the student standing in front
of Him).

Swami manifests a ring for a
student in the middle of His discourse

Everyone should
thus earn the grace of God. The green colour is a sign of peace
and welfare. I wish that all of you should earn such peace,
welfare, love, devotion and grace of God. It is only when you
drive away the bad qualities in you, that you will be able to
live in the divine presence. May you make proper use of the
Panchabhutas (the five elements of earth, water, fire, air and
ether). May you control your Panchendriyas (five senses). Then
God will be constantly with you guarding and guiding you.
Divinity cannot be attained merely by offering prayers and doing
Bhajans. Along with these sadhanas, you must also develop a pure
heart and offer it to God. Let your mind, intellect and chittha
be constantly associated with God wherever you are and whatever
work you are undertaking. Then your very mind, intellect and
chittha will be transformed into Divinity. When God is present
right in front of you in the form of Panchabhutas, where is the
need for searching for Him separately? There is no scope at all
for such a feeling! It is a serious mistake to think that God is
separate from the Panchabhutas. Considering God as your
everything and sole refuge, dedicate your senses to Him. This is
an easy method to reach God. When you follow such an easy path,
you will attain Moksha (liberation). After all, what is Moksha?
Moha Kshaya is Moksha (coming out of delusion is liberation).
There is no use chanting "Ram, Ram, Ram …" when your mind is
full of Moha (delusion). Whatever work you undertake, do it with
a sense of Bhagavad preetyartham (to please God). Whomever you
come across, consider him as an Embodiment of God. Even the
beggar standing in front of your door is an Embodiment of God.
He may be a beggar from the point of view of the physical body.
But, he is really an Embodiment of Divinity from the Atmic
sense. Whether one is a king or an emperor or a beggar, the same
Divinity permeates every individual. May you dedicate your lives
to win the love of God and His grace. Undertake every activity
as an offering to God. Even your reading your textbooks can be
done with such a sense of dedication to God. You will surely
pass your examinations in 1st class. I am happy that you are all
good boys. But, one caution, you must exhibit the same good
behaviour in your Higher Secondary School, as in the Primary
School.

Let Me remind
you that the teachers in the Higher Secondary School will not
hesitate to punish you whenever necessary if you go wrong. They
have nothing against anybody, but they are duty bound to put you
on the right track. If a teacher shirks his responsibility and
condones your bad behaviour without giving a punishment, then he
is a 'guddi guru' (blind teacher). He cannot be called a Guru in
the real sense. The role of a headmaster in the school is also
important. In fact, he is the 'head' for all the teachers.
Hence, he should oversee the work of all the teachers.

Education does
not mean simply reading of books. One cannot become great by
acquiring an academic degree. In fact, degrees are not great;
Divine is great. Hence, develop such divine nature. Only then
will your life become sanctified and your education meaningful.
Your parents will also be happy. You might be aware that your
parents have admitted you in Sri Sathya Sai Educational
Institution with great hopes. You must not disappoint them. You
must earn the praise of your father, mother, teacher and God –
all the four. Make your life meaningful and sacred by good
thoughts, feelings, practice and behaviour.

At one point in His
Divine Discourse, Swami beckoned to one
student sitting in the first line to stand
up. Pointing to him, Swami said, "I know
everything about everybody. But I act as
though I do not know."

I know everything about everyone

Swami manifests a ring for a
student
in the middle of His discourse

Then Swami narrated the story of another
student who had lost his mother when he was
a young child. Since then, Swami had taken
care of this boy and today he was doing his
post graduate studies in Swami's college.
Bhagavan then signalled for the boy and he
came to Swami. This boy happens to be the
band leader and our readers must have seen
his picture along with that of the band
every time they play on festive occasions.
Bhagavan patted him and later materialized a
green diamond ring and slid it onto his
finger, saying that green stands for
Kshema (welfare).

He further said, "See, I know all about
this boy's family. My true property is Love.
I Love all, those whom I see and even those
whom I do not. Even at times when I appear
angry it is just that I am pretending to be
angry. Iswara Sarva Bhootaanaam. It is with
this Love that God takes care of this entire
Universe."